Track testing the best of the BTCC

Autosport got behind the wheel of five of the championship's greatest machines on a special day at Brands Hatch to celebrate six decades of tin-top action

Jaguar Mk1 - Big cat was first to head the pack

As I roll gently down the Brands Hatch pitlane, ready to head out for my first run of the day, I feel like a villain in an early James Bond film. There are no machine guns lurking in the headlights of this particular Mk1 Jag, but even lacking rocket launchers this car was the weapon of choice in the early days of the British Touring Car Championship in the late 1950s, and remains one of the top choices if you are a serious '50s historic tin-top racer today.